The Monster Trio
by Kiarene
Summary: The relationships of the Pirate King's crew are complex, and yet straightforward.


**The Monster Trio**

**- 1 -**

The pirates gathered wait impatiently, clothes rustling, blades and various weapons clinking and rattling. The room is large, cavernous even, but no room is quite big enough to contain the pirates that have come for the meeting. Pirates are by nature bloodthirsty creatures that hunt in small packs known as crews.

Heavy doors bang open, and the Pirate King strides in, the heavy cloth of his red coat rippling around his calves. Luffy's body is lanky, his face boyish, his eyes wide but serious. Black hair stuck out wildly from under his trademark straw hat. Instead of his usual vest and cut-offs, he wears a heavy coat with gold trimmings, buttoned all the way up. His slippers flap incongruously as he walks.

The King is flanked by his lieutenants. To his right, as always, walks his first mate, the Greatest Swordsman. Zoro is a tall, broad-shouldered presence. His left eye was lost a long time ago, but it is of no matter as he always stands on his king's right. His maroon robe is open in the front, revealing a muscled torso criss-crossed with scars. Three swords are slung through a green haramaki.

To Luffy's left, the King's Cook, Blackleg Sanji. He is sharply dressed, in a gold top and crimson pants. In contrast to the heavy stillness of the First mate, the tall blond exudes a barely suppressed power. His fiery temper is as legendary as his cooking. A fall of gold hair hides the right eye, and under a curled brow, his left eye is rumored to be the same color as All-Blue.

There are rumors about the symmetry of the King's lieutenants' eyes.

Lesser pirates may sneer at the thought of the Pirate King's _cook_ as the third apex of the Monster Trio - the King's appetite is legendary - but those who _know _shudder. There are very good reasons why Blackleg is part of the Pirate Triumvirate. He is perhaps even the most important member, though only very few know that.

There is an enormous table in the middle of the room, and at its head, a large wooden chair. Select pirate captains are offered seats at the table, the rest have to stand a distance back.

Luffy folds lanky legs in the large chair. Seated crosslegged, all skinny limbs and boyish face, he doesn't quite look like royalty, much less the Pirate King. Until he _shifts_, his infamous strawhat darkening his eyes. His entire demeanor changes and everyone is again reminded just how this _boyo _earned his title. "Let's begin."

Zoro stands slightly back, just behind the King's chair. Like a bodyguard - others call him the King's trained dog - he stands, arms loosely crossed, his remaining eye alert.

Sanji, on the other hand, stands slightly in front of the King's chair. It is he who reaches forward and unrolls the map on the table with a snap. If Zoro has the King's back, it is he who is the King's front.

"The revolutionaries have taken Bouma. They march steadily towards Mariejois." Shanks speaks up first, one of the four Emperors and the only one who came to the meeting. His words are noticeably neutral. The redhaired man is the only Emperor friendly to the Pirate King, and who would bother to show up when he calls.

"Peh. They took a huge loss as well. They lost as much as they gained, a stalemate."

"So why the fuck are we here?"

"We are here because of the revolutionaries."

"What, they want our help? Why the hell for?"

"The enemy of our enemy is our ally!"

"I have no love for the Marines or World Government, but neither do I have any regard for the revolutionaries. I say we ignore them."

"I second that."

"...what 'e said."

One by one, the various captains around the table voice their opinions.

The Pirate King shakes his head. "We cannot ignore them. We cannot afford to ignore them."

The room falls silent. Luffy looks to Sanji, who steps up.

"We are hemmed on all sides, our freedom to sail where we would impeded. Where do we get our food from? With whom do we trade with? We are pirates, not farmers." Sanji lit a cigar and blew out a lungful of smoke. He looks around that the room. "Years ago, when it was still petty skirmishes between those two, we could have ignored them. Not now."

He leans forward and taps the map. It is mostly colored in blue and green. Areas of red speckled the map, and some areas are pink.

"Blue for the Marines and green for the revolutionaries. The only areas, sizable areas, where we control, are under the Emperors. These are in red. The areas who are neutral to us are in pink. Ladies and shitty bastards, while we were once free to roam _anywhere_, look at how much our freedom has shrunk by."

A few bristled at his words but most were staring gloomily at the map.

Shanks claps slowly. A gleam of approval in his eyes. "So, what now?"

"We can ally with the revolutionaries-"

A chorus of protests drowns Sanji's words. When the blond glares, the protests fade to a discontent grumbling.

"Or we can carve out our own territories. Bottom line is: we need to make a choice." With that, Sanji finally steps back.

Immediately the room breaks out into arguments. About half the room is for establishing their own territories, the other half arguing that it would take too long against the combined might of either the marines or the revolutionaries. Either way, alliances are required. Pirates are fiercely independent and cannot abide the thought of allying with the revolutionaries or even themselves.

Luffy watches, eyes intent under the shadowed brim of his hat. Sanji looks bored as he smokes, and Zoro simply stands. None of them offer any comment.

Shanks watches the trio, and the room.

Perhaps an hour passes. Suddenly, Luffy stands up, apropos of nothing. The noise level in the room drops.

"I'm hungry. Sanji, food!" Luffy turns towards his cook.

At this point, Zoro speaks up for the first time, his voice low and terrible. He had been so silent and still throughout the meeting that some had forgotten that he was there. Now, his presence is felt as he exerts his haki, a heavy blanket in the room. "We're leaving."

Sanji chuckles, light and yet menacing. "Try to come to a consensus by tomorrow, you shitty bastards. Don't waste our time."

Shanks stands up and stretches. He joins the trio as they walk out, leaving the room behind in stunned silence.

"That was wonderful and terrible," Shanks murmurs when they left the room.

"Right? We were wonderfully, terribly assholic." Sanji laughs. "And why are you following us?"

"How can I resist your cooking?" Shanks turns to look at the blond with a big grin.

"Sanji's food is the best!" Luffy declares.

Sanji whips out a baby den den mushi. "Nami-san! Usopp!"

"Right!" The others could hear her voice over the little snail.

At Shanks' questioning look, Sanji explains as he pockets his den den mushi. "We knew the meeting will be long and that Luffy couldn't last, so we figured why bother? You know Luffy."

"Food…" Luffy is starting to drool.

At this point, a red-haired woman and long-nosed man joins them. "So when he gets hungry, we'll go in to wrap up."

Sanji exchanges a high-five with Usopp and gives Nami an adoring look.

The King's Navigator, and sometimes Cat Burglar, is dressed in an obscenely short red skirt and matching red long-sleeved and low scooped top. Her orange hair cascades in curls down her back.

Usopp's lips curl in derision. "Good job. The great Captain Usopp will handle it from here!" At a sharp jab to his side, he adds with a pained hiss, "and the great Nami too…"

The King's Sniper is fancily dressed in a purple top with gold buttons, and lavender pantaloons. It is rather flamboyant for someone who is supposed be the crew's hidden weapon, but eccentricities are allowed, even expected, of the Pirate King's crew.

The two enter the meeting room. The arguing voices inside pause at the appearance of another two of the Pirate King's crew. Feared not for their strength, like the Monster Trio, but for their wiles. The more astute pirates will realize that _this_ is when the real meeting starts.


End file.
